The annual Block Party and Taste of Batavia gave residents a chance on Sunday to celebrate the Labor Day weekend at the Peg Bond Center at 151 N. Island Ave.
First launched back in 2010, the holiday weekend event was offered by the Batavia MainStreet group and the Batavia Depot Museum, which helped organize the Wayback Wheels Car Show which was part of the event.
Katie Lazowski of Palos Heights came with her boyfriend Rob Petersen of Aurora to visit the car show.
“It’s a beautiful set-up, there’s a good variety of cars and it’s a beautiful evening,” Lazowski said. “We got here about an hour after it opened, and we’re going to make a night of it. I’m not a car enthusiast, but the more I talked to (Rob) the more I’ve gotten into it.”
Other attractions included the annual pie baking contest sponsored by the Batavia Mothers Club, performances by the Batavia Academy of Dance and live music.
Beth Walker, executive director of Batavia MainStreet, said the event was a way to bring the community together one last time before the fall begins as well as a vehicle to showcase local eateries and drinking establishments.
“This is a way to send the summer off and also highlight businesses in the downtown area,” she said. “This started before my time as executive director, but I remember coming as a resident and the thing that always stood out to me … it was just a nice way to see your friends again given the hustle and bustle of summer.”
This year’s car show was tweaked, Walker said, noting that “for several years, the event just featured a car show for anyone who was interested in bringing their car out and taking a look at it.”
“This year, the Depot Museum got involved and they are focusing on older cars and things like that,” she said.
A special $3 food and beverage tasting option was also offered.
The option, Walker said, was put in “for people who would like to taste a little of everything,” adding that participating restaurants also sold larger portions as well.
Amy Stueve of Batavia said her interests leaned toward cars.
“I have come to this before and I have a classic car,” she said. “As far as the rest of the evening goes, I want to hang out, eat food and listen to music. I like that the local folks put this on. It gets our community together and you see people like your neighbors coming out that you know.”
Paul Smith said he lives just a block away from the Peg Bond Center which means “I just walk over here anytime something is going on.”
“I’ve been here since 2000 and anytime they are doing stuff I just wander down here,” he said. “I didn’t know about the food deal but I’m definitely going to hit that up. And any car show, I mean, I’ve owned classic cars for years … and anything with classic cars is going to get me out of the house.”
Mary Hooper, also of Batavia, came with her husband James and said they were regular attendees at the annual community bash.
“We come for the food, the music and the nice weather today,” she said while sitting on a bench just outside the grounds of the Peg Bond Center. “To me, this just keeps getting better and better. All of the stuff downtown just keeps getting better and better. We’ve been here since 1976 and we’ve seen the changes.”
James Hooper said that changes in Batavia over the years have been dramatic, saying you “can see a sense of progress.”
“We’ve been here long enough to see the town transform from an industrial kind of Midwestern thing that was dying when the industrial age dwindled to a nice vibrant community now,” he said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
